Coated fabric and process of making same



PYROXYLIN f'wenzor.' 0, Jzoddarfr;

Patented Apr, 3, 1928.

NiED STATES Par 'WILLIAM 0. STODDARD, JR., OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNGR iT() @@t't PDRATION, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, .A CORPORATION F NEW JERSEY.

('.OA'IEID FABRIC AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

.Application led May 3, 1920, Serial No. 378,403. Renewed January 18, 1926.

This invention relates-to improvements in coated fabrics and the. process of making same. My invention relates more particularly to coated fabrics of the type which are finished or embossed so as to simulate the effect obtained on natural leather.

W'hen natural leather is used in the manufacture of bags, fiexible book covers and similar articles, the edge portions of the leather are shaved down to a thin edge. 'ihis thin edge is turned upon itself and pasted or otherwise fastened so as to produce a Smooth finished binding for the seams of the bag or the edge of the book. This process of shaving down the leather to a thin edge is called shiving and originally it Was done With a very sharp shoe-knife. However, at the present time, it is done with a skiving machine 4Many attempts have heretofore been made to produce a coated fabric of the type known in the trade as artificial leather which could be subjected to this skiving operation so that hand bags and dexible book covers and similar articles could be made from it having smooth finished seams, produced by the turning over of the skived edges of the coated fabric. So far as I am aware, all of these prior attempts have been unsatisfactory and unsuccessful. rfhe reason for this is that the skiving operation would cut the threads of the cloth backing of the artificial leather so that the skived portion of the coated fabric had no tensile strength and would not stand the operation of turning. It will be understood that practically all artificial leather has been reduced by applying to a suitable cloth aching, a coating, which is usually'composed of a pyroxylin composition carrying the proper pigments or dyes to give the desired color. In the skiving operation the threads cf the cloth hacking were broken and destroyed so that the pyroxylin film left at the skived edges had no tensile strength.

I@ne of the chief objects of mydnvention is to produce a coated fabric which may be finished and embossed so as to simulate real leather and which may be skived and turned, asin the case of natural leather, for use in the production of hand bags, iexible hook covers and similar articles.

When an artificial leather produced by coating a fabric base with a pyroxylin or nitro-cellulose composition is exposed for Some time to the sun, heat or the edects of weather, it has been found that minute cracks develop in the surface coating which, 1n time, will permit water to percolate through these cracks so that a coated fabric thus produced is not permanently water proof. It is an object of my invention to provide a coated fabric having a coating of pyroXylin or nitro-cellulose is, nevertheless, permanently water c and in which means are provided to prev 'it the percolation of water through the mate-a rial as a result of the minute cracks appearing in the pyroxylin coatingi due to exposure to sun, heat and-weather.

Further objects, and objects relating 'to details of construction and economies of operation, will more definitely appear from thedetailed description to follow. i accomplish the objects of my invention as dc scribed in the following specification. My

invention is clearly defined in the appended claims. A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specication, in which Fig. l is a conventional, crosssection view" through a piece of coated fabric produced in accordance with my invention;

Fig. Il is a similar view showing one edge of the coated fabric skived, 'preparatory turning; and

Fig. Hi is a similar view showing the skived edge turned over upon itself `to form the seam. y n

In general, i carry out the objects of my invention by providing a double-texture coated fabric which is made up of two pieces of fabric united together by any suitable adhesive as bv rubber cement the u permost e 7 n I l a n ,e fabric havin@ hed thereto coating or D C 1 pyroxyhn composition which 1s colored grained or embossed so as to 'simulate reai leather. In the skivin o eration the iowermost fabric and the cement between the two fi A fabrics is cut away but the cutting does not go far enough to cut the 'threads of the uppermost fabric which re-inforce the py roxylin film so that this film has sucient tensile strength to withstand the operation ff of turning to form a finished edge as I have described above.

In producing coated fabrics in accordance with my inventiom-I first take a suitable backing fabric such as a drill, 'sat/een, or

moleslrin and cement to this a thin sheeting which may be of closely woven material. I have secured very satisfactory results by using arubber cement to join this backing to the thin sheeting which forms a resinforcing fabric as will appear hereinafter. These two fabrics are joined together by rubber cement on a doubling machine in the manner well-known in the art. It is not necessary to add any description of such a machine. at this point because it is well known in theart. After these two fabrics are thus joined to' gether, they are passed into a heater and there vulcanized in the manner well known in the rubber art. I then apply to the light,

. closely woven sheeting forming the film-re inforcing fabric one or more coatings of a pyroaylin solution towhich a. vegetable oil and prennent has been added as may be needy These coatings are ap lied on a spreading machinev by drawing t e fabric beneath a spreading knife in the manner well-known in this art. After the ap lication of each coating of the pyroxylin so ution, the coated fabric is subjected to a drying operation which evaporates the solvent of the pyroxylin leaving a coating of pyroxylin, vegetable oil and pigment upon the fabric. After the required number of coatings have been appliedv to the fabric, it is finished by graining or embossing in the manner which is well known in the artificial leather art. It will be understood that the body of the material is made up of the double texture fabric, comprising the two sheets of fabric united by rubber cement and it is only necessary for me to apply a pyroxylin coating of sufficient thickness to enable it to take the lgraining and embossing operation and to give the finish which is desired.

l have found that it is desirable to use as the top fabric, or the lm-reinforcin fabric, a very thin light weight sheeting of 'e close' weave so that it prevents the pyroxylin solvent from striking through and acting on the rubber cement.v I have also found that it is desirable to eliminate, in so far as possible, allingredients from the pyroxylin coating which might. act upon the rubber cement. For instance, benzol is a solvent of rubber and should not be used in the pyroxylin coating in such excess as to strike through into the rubber cement.

li have found that a coated fabric, produced in the manner described above, may be shived in thel same manner and with the "ie results as natural leather. The skivmnation cuts. through the backing and t cement, but does not cut the threads e ihre-reinforcing fabric, so that the portion presents a film of pyroxylin forced b d mayy e turned upon itself nce the desired results in conuse in bookbinding and the the threads of this' 'manufacture of ladies bags,` and inlsimilar' relations. v f;-

I have also found that a coated fabric con.-A j 5 structed in accordance with my present 1nvention will be permanently water proof', even though the surface coating of pyroxylin' composition be exposed for a long time to the sunheat or weather. I have foundthat the intermediate rubber layer by which the two fabrics are joined together, constitutes a water proof layer which will prevent water or moisture from percolating through the material by reason of any minute cracks which may have developed in the surface coating of pyroxylin, due to exposure to sun or heat.

I amaware that the particular embodiment of my invention, which I have described, is susceptible of considerable variation without departing from the spirit thereof and, therefore, 1 desire to claim the same broadl as well as specifically, as indicated in t e appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-v ters Patent is: v l 1. A coated fabric which comprises a fab'- ricbase, a relativel thin closely woven top fabric, an interme iate cementing layer of flexible rubber composition vuniting said fabric base and said top fabric and a pyroxylin coating covering and supported on said top fabric. v-

. 2. A coated fabric which com rises abase fabric, a ementing layer of rub r composition applied to and supported on said base fabric, a surface coating of pyroxylin covering said layer and a fabric separating said surface coa-ting from said rubber la er.

3. A coated fabric comprising a aching composed of two fabrics joined together by a layer of rubber composition interposed be tween them and vulcanized, one of said fabrios being of relativel close weave, and a surface coating applis to the closely woven 110 fabric separated by said fabric from said rubber layer. l A

fl. A coated fabric composed of a backing comprising two fabrics joined together by a layer of rubber composition interposed between them and vulcanized, one of said fabrics being of relatively light weight and close weave, and a surface coating applied to the closely woven fabric.

5. A coated fabric comprising a backing composed of two fabrics joined -together by a layer of rubber Acomposition interposed between them and vulcanized, one of said fabricsl being of relatively close weave, and a surface coating of .pyroxylin applied to said closely woven fabric. i

6. A coated, fabric. comprising a backing i composed of two fabrics joined together by a layer of rubber composition inter ose-d between them and vulcanized, one o said 15G fabrics being of relatively light weight and close weave, anda surface coating of pyroxysurface coating of pyroxylin applied to and lli supported on the close woven fabric separate from the underlying layer of rubber composition, whereby said coated fabric may be subjected to a skiving operation without destroying the tensile strength of said surface coating.

8. The process of making coated fabrics Comprising joining two fabrics together by a layer of rubber cement interposed between them, and applying av pyroxylin surface coating to one of said fabrics while avoiding a commingling of said cement layer and said surface coating.

9. The process of making coated fabrics comprising joining two fabrics together by a layer of rubber cement, vulcanizing said material, and then applying a surface coating to one of said fabrics while preventing said surface coating from uniting directly with said layer of rubber cement.

10. The process of making coated fabrics comprising joining two .fabrics together by a layer of rubber cement interposed between them, one of said fabrics being of relatively close weave, and then applying a surface coating of pyroXylin composition having a benzol content so low as not to act appreciably on the rubber layer, to the closely woven fabric.

l1. The process of making coated fabrics comprising joining together two fabrics by a layer of rubber composition interposed between them, one of said fabrics being of relatively close weave and light weight, vulcanizing the material thus formed, and then applying a surface coating of pyroXylin to the closely woven fabric.

l2; Tlieprocess of making coated fabrics which consi-sts in applying to the surface of a base fabric a layer of rubber cement; superposing on the cement a second fabric; applying a number of coats of pyroxylin solution successively t`o the second fabric; subjecting each coat to'a drying operation; and finally finishing the pyroxylin surface.,

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature.

WILLIAM O. STODDARD, Jn. 

